lithe.
Mild; calm.
Meaning & usage
Mild; calm.
lithe weather
Slim but not skinny.
lithe body
Capable of being easily bent; flexible.
the elephant’s lithe trunk.
Adaptable.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English lithe, from Old English līþe (“gentle, mild”), from Proto-West Germanic *linþ(ī), from Proto-Germanic *linþaz, from Proto-Indo-European *lentos. Akin to Saterland Frisian lied (“thin, skinny, gaunt”), Danish, Dutch, and archaic German lind (“mild”). Some sources also list Latin lenis (“soft”) and/or Latin lentus (“supple”) as possible cognates.
To become calm.
To make soft or mild; soften; alleviate; mitigate; lessen; smooth; palliate.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English lithen, from Old English līþian, līþigian, līþegian (“to soften, calm, mitigate, assuage, appease, be mild”), from Proto-West Germanic *linþijan, from Proto-Germanic *linþijaną (“to soften”), from Proto-Indo-European *lento- (“bendsome, resilient”). Cognate with German lindern (“to alleviate, ease, relieve”).
To attend; listen, hearken.
To listen to, hearken to.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English lithen, from Old Norse hlýða (“to listen”), from Proto-Germanic *hliuþijaną (“to listen”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱlew- (“to hear”). Cognate with Danish lytte (“to listen”). Related to Old English hlēoþor (“noise, sound, voice, song, hearing”), Old English hlūd (“loud, noisy, sounding, sonorous”). More at loud.
Shelter.
Where this word comes from
Uncertain; perhaps an alteration of lewth.
to thicken (gravy, etc.)
Where this word comes from
From Middle English lithen (“to make gentle or mild; to relax, soothe”), from Old English līþan (“to assuage, mitigate, soften”), from līþe (“lithe, gentle”).
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.